


Desperada Times Call for Desperada Measures

by sagansjagger



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, Plagg Cares (Miraculous Ladybug), Poor Plagg (Miraculous Ladybug), Protective Plagg (Miraculous Ladybug), Supportive Plagg (Miraculous Ladybug)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:21:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26337121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sagansjagger/pseuds/sagansjagger
Summary: When Adrien rejects Plagg in favor of Sass to fight Desperada, Plagg has some mixed feelings about the situation.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Plagg, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 60
Kudos: 82





	Desperada Times Call for Desperada Measures

Plagg didn’t have anything against Sass.

Really. Plagg didn’t.

So Plagg shouldn’t be feeling resentful. 

He _shouldn’t._

Plagg sighed, leaning against the wall of the sewers. It wasn’t Sass’ fault that Adrien was being an idiot. But then Plagg saw the way Adrien lit up like a kid on Christmas receiving a puppy when Sass came out of his miraculous… and Plagg’s little, black heart broke.

“Amazing!” Adrien said, after shielding his eyes from the green glow of Sass’ appearance. 

Plagg harrumphed. Adrien never called _him_ amazing. When Adrien first saw him, the boy said he was like a genie. A genie! What an insult. After that, Adrien chased Plagg around the room, telling him not to touch things. And after Plagg hadn’t been out of the Miracle Box for two hundred years! Adrien had no idea what the little kwami had been through.

Adrien didn’t understand how lonely and annoyed and _bored_ Plagg had been. Adrien couldn’t possibly understand why being locked up in a tiny world wasn’t any fun, why exploring the world around them was so important to Plagg. Why freedom was so important.

And that was just it, wasn’t it? Adrien was a fifteen-year-old human boy. He was head over heels for Ladybug and at times self-centered, especially when it came to impressing her. 

He had no comprehension of the magnitude of Plagg’s feelings.

Plagg knew Adrien loved Ladybug. 

Plagg wanted to be loved, too.

Not that he would ever admit that out loud. And especially not to Adrien himself, who could never understand the bond a kwami had with their chosen partner. 

Plagg rubbed his temples with his flippers. _Teenager,_ Plagg reminded himself. _He’s so young._ Plagg didn’t have a very good grasp on human ages. Adrien could walk and talk and use the bathroom by himself, and he was able to provide Plagg’s precious camembert. But it was only after comparing and contrasting Adrien to his previous kittens that Plagg had realized just how very young he was.

“Sass, scales slither!” Adrien said, and spun as Sass’ suit clung to him, lyre in hand. 

Adrien was young. But watching him transform using another kwami… That was too much. Plagg swallowed bile.

Despite himself, Plagg followed Adrien and Ladybug as they ran through the sewers. Adrien’s eyes on her were filled with so much admiration, Plagg knew the boy’s heart must be bursting with it. The kwami drew a deep breath in, watching them flirt. _Disgusting,_ he thought, turning his head to pretend to retch. _He’d give up everything for her._

_Even… me._

Plagg bit back a gasp, coming to an abrupt stop in the air. That thought hurt. 

His kitten didn’t need him. Plagg had never felt more useless. He’d been lonely before, but that was nothing to the feeling of abandonment he felt now. To have a taste of freedom and to have the possibility snatched away…

 _What if Ladybug always wants him to use Sass?_ Plagg thought, biting his flipper. _What if Adrien wants to be an egghead forever?_

Plagg trembled. Nausea struck him in the throat. _No. No. He hasn’t given her the ring back. He still wants me._

_... Doesn’t he?_

Ladybug called for her Lucky Charm, a saddle, and explained Sass’ power. Adrien activated it, and Plagg gagged, smelling the atrocious copper tang of Sass’ time magic. 

“Still no cat. Come to think of it, we’re okay without him,” Ladybug said, and Plagg watched Adrien’s face fall. Plagg didn’t want to get his hopes up. But he did. Maybe Adrien wanted him after all? Then Ladybug opened her mouth again. “... Now that we have your power!”

Adrien smiled, and Plagg turned away.

 _Darn it, Pigtails,_ Plagg thought, a new scent of grass and ozone filling the air. Was he crying? He couldn’t cry. He was Plagg! Agent of chaos! God of destruction! He was the kwami who _officially_ didn’t care what humans thought.

Except that one.

He turned back to see Adrien again, prepared to follow him into battle. Plagg had to see how this showdown against Desperada would go down. Surely Adrien would fail. Sass’ power could only do so much. And Adrien was too lovestruck with his Lady to properly use it. 

“Sass, scales rest!” Adrien said, pain quivering his lip. He handed the miraculous box back to Ladybug. “It didn’t work. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t the right choice for you after all.”

Plagg gasped. He’d been right. Adrien couldn’t succeed without him. 

Plagg didn’t know how to feel about Adrien’s failure. On the one hand, Plagg relished the thought of his chosen not being able to handle Sass’ power. It was a perverse glee that overtook him; _he_ was the kwami for Adrien, not Sass. 

On the other hand, the boy was clearly distressed. And did he say he’d tried over twenty-five _thousand_ times?

 _What the heck, Adrien?_ Plagg thought, his eyes widening. _Why are you so stubborn?_

“I don’t know what to do anymore!” Adrien choked out, turning away to fold his arms around himself. 

_Come and find me!_ Plagg wanted to shout. _That’s what you do!_

And that was exactly what Adrien looked to be doing. Plagg’s giddiness was overwhelming. Adrien… needed him? Adrien wanted him instead of Sass?

Adrien ran off, and Plagg zoomed after him. The boy rounded a corner. Plagg phased his way through the wall. He couldn’t let Adrien know what he’d felt. He had a reputation to maintain, darn it. “Ah, at last, you’ve come to your senses!”

Adrien leaned over, placing his hands on his knees. He looked so dejected. Plagg was torn. On the one hand, he wanted to tell the kid, ‘I told you so!’ But on the other… Twenty-five thousand times. “I’m not sure Ladybug will have very fond memories of Adrien Agreste.”

Plagg knew what he had to do. What he had to say. He wanted to sink his metaphorical teeth into Adrien and never let go. He wanted the boy to understand Plagg’s usefulness, to completely get how important Adrien was to _him._ Plagg swallowed his urge to uncontrollably shake.

“Then make up for it as Chat Noir!” Plagg said gleefully, baring his heart to his human. 

Plagg’s thoughts were a whirlwind. _What if he rejects me again? What if he wants to try again with Sass? What if he thinks Sass is the better kwami for him?_

Plagg began to quietly pant, his chest heaving. If Adrien looked at him now and noticed how distressed he was, Plagg would come completely undone. _Will I need to go back into the Miracle Box? No more camembert? No more freedom?_

With a start, Plagg realized that freedom wasn’t his concern at all.

 _...Will I ever see Adrien again?_

He didn’t know what he’d do if he couldn’t see Adrien anymore. He adored the kid, wanted to protect him, wanted to spend time playing Extreme Racing III with him. Adrien was his chosen. The boy was the best kitten Plagg ever had.

Plagg loved Adrien.

And the rejection… hurt.

Plagg smelled ozone and grass. He felt tears well in his eyes and dashed them away.

Then Adrien said the one thing Plagg had wanted to hear all along.

“You’re right. Plagg...”

Plagg didn’t even object to Adrien wanting to transform this time. He was too excited to be useful. To be loved back.

“Claws out!”

Plagg smiled as he spun into the ring. 

He was home.

**Author's Note:**

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> 
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> 
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